1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to soils and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for maintaining certain soils on playing fields, tracks, and arenas to operate as if dry.
2. The Background Art
Different types of soils perform their functions differently. In particular, rocky soils, sandy soils and the like tend to pass water freely. Likewise clay soils, such as exist in tennis courts, baseball fields, and the like tend to hold water, but yet tend to compact, harden, and not permit the water to distribute therethroughout. Typically, organic soils having substantial amounts of loam formed by organic matter such as leaves, other foliage, decaying plant matter, and the like provide absorption and holding of water.
Sports venues, playing fields, arenas, and the like may be constructed to host baseball, softball, horse racing, rodeo, other equestrian sports, dog racing, motor spots, golf, volleyball, tennis, football, soccer, cycling, or other sports. In such events a consistent soil is desirable. Weather especially rain, interferes. Waiting for weather and recovery is costly.
In general, soil may be altered on a small scale by addition of certain other soils, such as organic matter like peat moss, inorganic matter such as vermiculite, sand, and the like. On a large scale, soils are typically improved by growing and plowing under certain plants selected for their addition of organic matter. Likewise, waste materials from corrals, grain stalks (straw) and the like may be plowed into tracts of land in order to improve their organic content and their capacity to hold water for use by plants. Bare athletic field soils in arenas that depend on no plant matter are problematic. Plants and organic matter cannot be present to protect and remediate.
Many playing fields for athletic events are outdoors, some bare and some covered with grass. Some, like baseball and volleyball may be covered with grass, bare soil, or both in different regions. Plants, like grass, absorb considerable water, in part because they rely on water as a transport mechanism in order to draw nutrients from the ground into the plants through the roots and into the stems, leaves, and so forth. Likewise, water acts as a transpiration cooling mechanism by evaporation out through foliage of a plant. As a result plants will typically absorb large amounts of rainfall.
However, fields that have some portion of bare soil have only the soil to absorb water. If the soils have a significant fraction of clay, they absorb only a comparatively smaller amount of water, becoming slick. When dry, soils may be dusty. In rain, they may cling and glob together. Meanwhile they leave pools of standing water. Soils that absorb water will become soft and muddy, likewise unsuitable for use.
It would be an advance in the art to provide a mechanism whereby to automatically absorb and temporarily store within a soil, a certain amount of water, promoting run off as well. It would be helpful to have a mechanism to deal with water, allowing runoff, while relieving standing water by removal, drawing down into the soil or both to provide dry behavior by the soil.